Online Super Bowl pre-game

Nielsen/NetRatings reported this week that more than 1 million unique visitors logged on to SuperBowl.com during the week ending Jan. 19. The rate of visitors grew 339% since the playoffs started.

The official site of the sporting event, SuperBowl.com drew fans online from the wildcard playoffs to the AFC and NFC Conference championships.

The Philadelphia Eagles attracted more than 18% of the total audience during the week prior to the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers garnered about 16% of the total, ultimately winning the NFC title and now the Super Bowl. The Oakland Raiders lost the big game, but did attract 11% of SuperBowl.com’s audience the week ending Jan. 19. The Dallas Cowboys was the fourth-highest-hit team, while the Tennessee Titans earned 5.9% of the viewership.

Almost 12 million Internet users visited a sports-related Web site during the week ending Jan. 19, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. The company also found that the figure accounts for more than 14% of the active online population at home.

Sporting events such as the Super Bowl or the World Series have significantly contributed to Web site traffic increases, Nielsen/NetRatings says. Sports fans reported they visit the following sites the most: ESPN, NFL Internet Network, eBay Sports, AOL Sports and Yahoo Sports. Other Web sites that attract a lot of traffic are Sportsline.com, CNNsi, OCSN, Nascar.com and NBA Internet Network.